iCar Dreams Dwindle

It’s well known that Steve Jobs had expressed his regret over not inventing the iCar during his time with Apple. For many years, Apple had mixed feelings about their place in the world of cars. Those dreams have now been downsized considerably from creating an Apple car to seeking space on the dash of existing models—competing with Pandora Media, BlackBerry, and Microsoft.

When 2013 wraps up, people buying cars will be able to shop for several automobiles that have built-in Apple functions. Models equipped with Apple iPhone features will offer the use of Siri vocal controls to use navigation, text messaging, emailing, and play music.

Taking on competitors who want to stay connected with cars and exclude Apple will prove to be more difficult than prior projects. It’s going to be hard to take on competitors when all they have to go on is controls. Apple has traditionally set themselves far apart from the competition in areas of quality and innovation in desktop computers, laptops, tablets, phones, music players, and accessories.

Apple is the world’s most predominate technology company in market value, and they want to infiltrate the auto market. Meanwhile, auto makers are struggling to juggle customer demand with safety protocols.

With the awareness that many people are already using iPhones as a more affordable alternative to built-in infotainment systems and navigation, auto manufacturers want to incorporate Apple into their cars. The auto makers believe that by working Apple technology into their cars, they can reduce distractions while also making the customers happy.

Currently, the Siri function from Apple is already incorporated into the General Motors Chevy Spark and Sonic models, but the reviews have been less than flattering. These models use the iOS 6-based operating system in the head unit in the dashboard, which is the core of the stereo system. This incorporation is meant to eliminate the need for an additional navigation device.

Complaints about the current Siri-equipped cars include reports that the system frequently won’t recognize voices. Experts in technology speculate that Siri is not good for this kind of function as the inside of a car is often too noisy to allow Siri to function as it should.

The upcoming iOS 7 software is going to be integrated fully into certain models offered by Honda, General Motors, Hyundai, and Nissan. Icons will also be integrated into their center console screens which resemble the iPhone/iPad icons.